The Frog Prince
by gyuunmaesan
Summary: A retelling of the Grimm brothers' classic fairy tale. Starring Jaken and Rin.


**The Frog Prince**

**1: The Quest for the Golden Ball**

In the Feudal Era, when demons and all sorts of enchantments still abounded Japan, there lived Sesshoumaru, the Lord of the Western Lands, and a little girl named, Rin. Sesshoumaru loved Rin very much but did not show it because he was a taiyoukai and she was a human. He thought that it was shameful for a demon lord like him to feel any affection for a lowly creature. Nevertheless, he took care of her and gave her costly gifts. He also made his toad vassal Jaken follow Rin wherever she went to prevent her from being kidnapped. Close by the lord's castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the little girl went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was tired of singing and running around the well and pestering Jaken, she took a golden ball, Sesshoumaru's most precious gift, and threw it up on high and caught it. Indeed, this ball was her favorite plaything.

Now it so happened that on one occasion the Rin's golden ball did not fall into the little hand, which she was holding up for it, but right into the well. Rin followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she call for Jaken, who was snoozing under the lime tree. She shouted louder and louder, and when Jaken did not awaken, she hit him hard on the head.

"What's your problem now, you impertinent child?" Jaken said groggily.

Rin giggled. She picked Jaken up and carried him. "Jaken-sama, Rin's ball fell into the well. Rin wants you to get it back." And with that, she plopped the poor creature right into the cold water.

Though (or maybe because) Jaken hated water, he came swimming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass in quite a short time. Rin, delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, picked it up and ran away with it. "Wait, wait," said Jaken. "Oh you wretched human… wait 'til I get you!" She did not listen to him, but ran home and soon forgot the small shivering youkai, who was forced to follow Rin all the way back home though his head was spinning.

The next day when she had seated herself at table with her Sesshoumaru-sama and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, "Rin, Rin, open the door for me. I'm dying… I'm freezing… I'm dying."

She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there stood poor Jaken, who was now yellow because of a very high fever. Then she slammed the door in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. Sesshoumaru heard plainly that her heart was beating violently. He looked at her. Answering his gaze, Rin replied, "Sesshoumaru-sama, was that Jaken-sama? Rin did not see anyone."

Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow, "Do not fool me." Rin clapped her hands to her mouth. There was no use lying. "Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama, yesterday when Rin was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, Rin's golden ball fell into the water. And because Rin wanted it back, Rin threw Jaken into the well so Jaken brought it out again for Rin."

In the meantime, Jaken had started to bang his head against the door. Quavering under the cold stare Sesshoumaru gave her, Rin sighed and got up to open the door. The yellow toad looked up at her, spun around and collapsed into her arms. He made a nice little deathbed speech and began to cry. Rin started to cry too, and Sesshoumaru, though amused with the whole scene, got up and hit Jaken hard on the head. With the blubbering toad silenced, Sesshomaru looked at Rin. Rin looked up to him, "Sesshoumaru-sama, what will Rin do?"

"If you want to cure Jaken, cure him yourself," he replied.

**2: The Strange Curing Method**

Rin carried Jaken into her room and placed him on her futon. After tucking him in tightly, she went to the garden and called for Ah-Un. The two-headed beast came to her and they set off for the herb fields of Jinenji. Rin remembered the time when Naraku's bees stung Jaken and she had to go to these fields to get the seeds of the wormwood plant. She wondered if the same herb was to be used on Jaken. Looking down, she saw Jinenji's hut. Ah-un gracefully landed in front of it. Rin jumped off quickly and opened the door. Jinenji and his mother wore surprised expressions on their faces but they quickly smiled when they saw who it was.

"Well, hello Rin-chan! Come and have some tea," Jinenji's hag-looking mother invited.

Seeing the worried face of Rin, Jinenji asked her, "Another friend of yours needs wormwood? Don't worry, I'll get it for you this time." He got up to leave.

"Wait," Rin said. Jinenji looked at her. She really did remind him of Kagome.

"Well, you see…" Rin told them the story of Jaken and how he became ill again. When she finished, Rin couldn't understand why the two were laughing so hard.

"Oh, I thought it was something serious!"

"Ha-ha-ha! Imagine, a toad that hates water!"

They stopped laughing their heads off when they saw Rin's glum expression.

"All right, Rin," Jinenji shoved her a herb on the table towards her, "this will bring your toad back to his normal color. As for the fever, let it pass. It won't harm him."

Rin took the herb and bowed to Jinenji and his mother, "Thank you."

Sesshoumaru listened as Rin flew back to the palace. He heard her creep to her room where the sleeping Jaken lay. _She cares too much for that small creature_, he thought.

Rin had already forced the herb down Jaken's throat. The little youkai slowly turned back into his normal color, but still, his eyes were closed. Rin checked his temperature. His skin was unusually cold.

"Jaken-sama!" she called. Jaken did not wake up. "Jaken-sama!" she called again. Still no response. She picked Jaken up and began to shake him, "Jaken-sama, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" She shook the toad more vigorously. Placing him on the floor, Rin started to hit him this way and that.

Sesshoumaru twitched his lips a little as he listened to the beating Rin was giving Jaken.

Jaken was clearly oblivious to the poundings Rin's little fists were giving him. He was having such a wonderful dream. He was at a pond with the most beautiful girl his eyes had ever set upon. He sat admiring her and he stared into her eyes to see if she was doing the same. The reflection he saw startled him. He looked into the pond to see if his eyes were not deceiving him. Suddenly, something clicked inside his brain.

The girl beside him turned into a witch. "Because you are such a disrespectful young man," she said while waving her wand, "I shall condemn you to become a frog!" she yelled, hitting her wand on his head.

Rin was already terribly angry. She continued to box Jaken.

Sesshoumaru stood up. _It's about time this stopped_, he thought as he walked towards Rin's room.

"JA-KEN-WAKE-UP!" Rin breathed heavily as she took Jaken up and threw him with all her might against the wall.

"OWWW!" Jaken screamed either because of the blow he received on his head by the witch's wand or because Rin threw him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried. Sesshoumaru was at her side with the speed of lightning. He pointed the Toujikin at the twelve-year old boy who was sprawled across the floor, covered with bruises from head to toe, black and blue all over.

"Human, what are you doing in this Sesshoumaru's palace?" said he in a frightful tone.

The boy rose with great effort and knelt before the great youkai. "Mi-lord Sesshoumaru, do you not recognize your faithful servant? It is I, Jaken!"

**3: Jaken's Tale**

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. He sniffed the air. Indeed, this boy smelled horribly like Jaken.

Rin peeked from behind Sesshoumaru's leg, "Jaken-sama?"

"Aye, indeed it is I, Jaken. I had long forgotten about the curse, which was placed on me many, many years ago." Jaken proceeded to narrate his tale.

More than a century and a half ago, Jaken was just a simple farm boy in the western lands. He and his family had been serving Sesshoumaru's father for many years now. One day, a lovely lady got lost in the woods and (un) fortunately; Jaken was there, too, on an errand to gather firewood. He saw the lady and pitied her hapless condition for she had sprained an ankle and was badly scratched so he carried her on his back until they got out of the forest. Jaken set her down and demanded that she give him money to buy firewood in town since he was not able to gather any because of her. The lady got angry, turned into a witch and cursed him.

"She said I would not return to my true form unless I received a million beatings." Jaken's eyes filled with tears as he looked from Sesshoumaru-sama to Rin. "Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama, thank you Rin, for hitting me all the time."

Sesshoumaru looked at the boy incredulously. One thing was for sure: youkai or human, Jaken was still definitely stupid. "Leave now," Sesshoumaru said coldly.

"Wh-what? Jaken will leave? Sesshoumaru-sama surely you do not mean this? Jaken has nowhere to go!" Jaken cried.

_And still a loudmouth_, Sesshoumaru thought.

Rin tugged at Sesshoumaru's pants, "Sesshoumaru-sama, don't let Jaken-sama go!"

Sesshoumaru looked into Rin's pleading eyes.

"Please," she implored.

He looked at the weeping Jaken. Well, after all, Jaken had some purposes. "Hn… Jaken, you can stay."

Rin giggled with delight. Jaken looked up at Sesshoumaru, his eyes filled with tears.

The silver-haired youkai continued, "AS my servant."

"Yes, yes, Sesshoumaru-sama. Jaken will remain your most faithful and trustworthy servant as long as he lives." Jaken opened his arms to embrace his master's legs.

THUNK.

A great force hit him on the head, leaving the former toad-youkai unconscious.

**The End?**

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin looked at her kind patron. Once again, he, Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un were patrolling the Western Lands. They had just stopped by a stream for Rin to freshen up. When the little girl came back, she found Jaken sleeping under a tree.

"Hn," came the taiyoukai's usual response.

"Jaken-sama was more useful when he was a toad youkai, wasn't he?"

Sesshoumaru looked at the sleeping boy. "No, Rin," he replied, "He is still the same Jaken."

"But," Rin looked doubtful.

"He's always been like that. You only notice it now because he's more… visible."

Rin nodded. She knelt beside Jaken and gently shook him. "Jaken-sama, wake up."

Jaken slowly opened his eyes. He looked slightly annoyed to see Rin. "You impertinent girl! Why did you wake me up?"

Sesshoumaru spoke, "Jaken."

The boy jumped up in surprise. "Forgive your servant, Sesshoumaru-sama…"

"Hn." The usual response. Sesshoumaru turned and started to walk. Jaken sighed with relief. He turned to Rin to glare at her then followed Sesshoumaru.

Rin just smiled. Sesshoumaru-sama was right, toad-youkai or human, some things would never really change with Jaken-sama.


End file.
